Artistic features of epics. Topic: "Plots of Russian epics in various forms of art

Epics are epic songs in which heroic events or individual episodes of ancient Russian history are sung. In its original form, epics took shape and developed during the period of early Russian statehood (in Kievan Rus), expressing the national consciousness of the Eastern Slavs.

Epics artistically summarized the historical reality of the 11th-16th centuries, but they grew out of the archaic epic tradition, inheriting many features from it. The monumental images of heroes, their extraordinary feats poetically connected the real life basis with fantastic fiction. As in fairy tales, mythological images of enemies appear in epics, characters are reincarnated, animals help heroes. Nevertheless, fantasy in the epic turned out to be subordinated to the historicism of vision and reflection of reality.

“When a person doubts that a hero could carry a club of forty pounds or one put a whole army on the spot,” wrote A.F. Gilferding, “epic poetry is killed in him. And many signs convinced me that the North Russian peasant singing epics, and the vast majority of those who listen to him unconditionally believe in the truth of the miracles that are depicted in the epic. From the point of view of the people, the significance of epics was to preserve historical memory, so their reliability was not questioned.

Epics were recorded mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries. in the Russian North - their main custodian: in the former Arkhangelsk province, in Karelia (the former Olonets province), on the rivers Mezen, Pechora, Pinega, on the coast White Sea, in the Vologda region. In addition, since the XVIII century. epics were recorded among the old-timers of Siberia, in the Urals, on the Volga (Nizhny Novgorod, Saratov, Simbirsk, Samara provinces) and in the central Russian provinces (Novgorod, Vladimir, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Smolensk, Kaluga, Tula, Oryol, Voronezh). Echoes of epics preserved Cossack songs on the Don, Terek, Lower Volga, Urals.

The content of the epic is varied. About 100 plots are known to science (more than 3000 texts have been recorded with variants and versions, a significant part of which has been published). Usually epics have a heroic or short story character. The idea of ​​heroic epics is the glorification of the unity and independence of the Russian land; in novelistic epics marital fidelity, true friendship were glorified, personal vices (boastfulness, arrogance) were condemned. Epics condemned social injustice, the arbitrariness of princely power. The purpose of the epics was to glorify the national, social, moral and ethical ideals of the people.

The people called epics "old men", "old men", "old women" - that is, songs about real events of the distant past. The term "epic" is purely scientific; it was proposed in the first half of the 19th century. I. P. Sakharov. The word "epic" was taken by him from "The Tale of Igor's Campaign" ("These hymns have begun according to the epics of this time ...") and artificially applied to designate the folklore genre in order to emphasize its historicism.

The tunes of epics are solemn and majestic. It is assumed that in ancient times epics were sung to the accompaniment of a gusli - a string musical instrument. Later they were performed without musical accompaniment.

The rhythm of the epic verse is associated with the melody. There are four main stresses in the epic line, the fourth falls on the last syllable, the third on the third from the end. For example: Prince Vladimir says yes these are the words. The number of syllables in the verse and the place of the first two stresses are unstable. The fixedness of the third and fourth stresses led to the fact that in the last word a stress transfer could occur (Ilya went to the open field). If the last word had three syllables or more, then when singing, the last stress of the line was its third main stress - usually on the third syllable from the end (The standing one led the good horse out of the stable). During singing, the final syllables could be stretched out, and those missing in the verse could be filled in with additional prepositions or particles (And along all the wide streets, Yes, along all the alleys of the princes).

A. F. Hilferding wrote: "... The correct tonic foot position is a fundamental, normal property of the Russian folk epic<...>The predominant meter, which I will call the ordinary epic meter, is a pure trochee with a dactylic ending.<...>The number of stops is indefinite, so the verse is extensible. Extensibility at the correct tonic size is distinguishing feature Russian epic verse. But at the same time, it should be borne in mind that good singers have a very moderate extensibility of verse. A decisive predominance belongs to the verse of 5 and 6 feet, which can then expand to 7 and narrow to 4 feet; verses longer or shorter than that are allowed only as the rarest anomaly.

Epics reflected many historical realities. As noted by D. F. Hilferding, the northern singers conveyed the unfamiliar geography and landscape of Kievan Rus (split clear field), depicted the real struggle of the ancient Russian state against the nomadic steppe. Individual details of everyday life were preserved with amazing accuracy.

In 1928, in the Pudozh district of the Karelian ASSR, F. A. Konashkov recorded a version of the epic "Duke Stepanovich". The untold riches of this Galician boyar were spoken of with the help of hyperbole: “We should sell Kyiv with Tsernigov, And buy papers with cinnamon, So after all, you can’t describe Dyukov’s estate, But peel the ecu of birezanka according to Risi. " [Sokolov-Chicherov. - S. 395].

The Novgorod birch bark letters mentioned by the epic were discovered by archaeologists only two and a half decades later, in the early 1950s.

Singing in epics certain events, storytellers never became like chroniclers. They did not seek to convey the chronicle sequence of history, but depicted only its central moments, which were embodied in the central episodes of epics. The singers were attracted not by the exact recording of history, but by the expression of its people's assessments, the display of people's ideals.

Epics conveyed the names of real-life persons: Vladimir Svyatoslavovich and Vladimir Monomakh, Dobrynya, Sadko, Alexander Popovich, Ilya Muromets, Polovtsian and Tatar khans (Tugorkan, Batu). However fiction allowed singers to attribute them to an earlier or later historical time, allowed the combination of names. In the people's memory there was a distortion of geographical distances, the names of ancient countries and cities. The historically established idea of ​​the Tatars as the main enemy of Russia supplanted the mention of the Polovtsy and Pechenegs; even the Lithuanian princes, from whom Russia defended itself, were mixed in epics with the Horde khans, and Lithuania - with the Horde.

The epic prince Vladimir the Red Sun combined two great princes: Vladimir I - Svyatoslavovich (reigning years: 980-1015) and Vladimir II - Monomakh (reigning years: 1113-1125). VF Miller, considering the epic "Stavr Godinovich", inclined to the assumption that it was composed in the Novgorod land. Stavr was a Novgorod boyar and Sotsky, lived in the first quarter of the 12th century. and once he was imprisoned by Vladimir Monomakh, angry with him. The plot of the epic is also based on the fact that Prince Vladimir imprisoned Stavr in deep cellars. V.F. Miller wrote: “... this Novgorod work with the name of Vladimir Monomakh subsequently entered the epic cycle of the“ affectionate ”prince of Stolnokiev Vladimir Seslavich. In general, the epic about Stavra is among our other epics the most a prime example assimilation of Vladimir Monomakh with Vladimir the Holy.

Zueva T.V., Kirdan B.P. Russian folklore - M., 2002

Features that characterize epics.

Bylina is first of all a song. A special, unusual, not even similar to those folklore variants that we have already encountered, but still a song. The poetic meter of the epic is characteristic - a folk epic verse: three or four clear stresses per line, the intervals between which are 1-3 syllables. Bylina does not seek to quickly convey information. She is slow, measured and majestic, because the events she tells about are also serious.
The epic verse is associated with melodious speech - recitative, interception is often used, familiar to us from folk song: “The straight-ahead path has choked up, // The path has choked up, it has covered up.”
The peculiarity of the epic is that, unlike a fairy tale, the events of the epic were perceived by the performer and the audience as actually happening. Bylina is a song about antiquity, and antiquity, in the understanding of a person of that time, is the foundation of the foundations, its reality, no matter how fantastic it may seem, is not in doubt.
Probably, from the desire for plausibility and a certain spatial specificity inherent in the epic: the scene of the epic is Murom, Vladimir, Rostov, Kyiv. The time of action in the epics of the Kyiv cycle is also established - IX-XI centuries - the heyday of Kievan Rus.
The material of the epic is the most important historical events, as a rule, wars with primordial enemies that threatened Russia. To become the property of an epic, an event must be very significant in the minds of the people. It is no coincidence that among the 120 stories of epics there is not a single one dedicated to daily events.
Relying on history, however, does not prevent the epic from being sometimes completely implausible. Reality includes, for example, obviously mythical elements: Serpent Gorynych, Tugarin Zmeevich, Nightingale the Robber.
Bylina opposes good to evil, and evil is subject to destruction, but the images that embody evil are somewhat different in these two genres of folklore.
Important feature epics that the enemy is in it (even being mythical creature) is perceived as an enemy of the state served by the hero. Apparently, epics are created when the nation is in need of unification, rallying. The time of occurrence of epics, of course, is difficult to determine unambiguously, but, apparently, it precedes the formation of the Kievan state. .
The desire for unity, for unification is also relevant in the period feudal fragmentation, and during the period of the emergence and strengthening of Moscow - perhaps this explains the vitality, relevance of the genre for several centuries
The main quality of a hero is military prowess. All other qualities are secondary. This reflected the reality of the time. The virtues of a hero are tested in battle, in unequal battle. The composition of the epic is also connected with this, the culminating event of which will be precisely the battle - saturated with hyperbole.
The main heroes of the Kyiv cycle, of course, are well known to children, and all of them, in their view, are brave, strong, smart, fair, merciless towards the enemies of the Russian land, which they love selflessly and ardently. Ilya is the most powerful, the most important hero, and Alyosha Popovich is the youngest.
Among the features of poetics, both the beginning and the ending should be noted.
The epics of the Kyiv cycle are characterized by a common composition. Exposition - the departure of the hero from the parental home or his presence at the princely feast; on the way to Kyiv, the hero performs feats, or at the prince's feast, the need for a battle with the antagonist becomes obvious. The heroic duel itself - the climax of the epic - usually takes a little time, after which the hero returns to the princely court again. Each episode is fixed in space and time. The change of events is accompanied by the obligatory movement of the hero.

Information sheet.

Get acquainted with the theoretical materials in your information card. Listen to the teacher's message. Complete the card with the information you need.

Bylina is a work of oral folk art, glorifying …………………

…………………………………………………………………………………………………..

The epic consists of the following parts:

1) sing-along (introduces the reader into the world of folk art);

2) beginning (the place of action, the name of the protagonist are indicated);

3) start (important event);

4) culmination (central event);

5) denouement (victory of the positive hero);

6) ending (glory to the hero).

Artistic features of the epic:

1) repetitions of words, expressions, episodes;

2) appeals;

3) trinity (the number three or multiples of three is often found).

An epic verse is a special verse based on an equal number of stresses in lines (more often in line 3 stresses) and the same arrangement of stressed syllables at the end of each line (more often the stress is the 3rd syllable from the end of the line).

Application №2

Epics. Artistic features of epics.

Oral folk poetry arose many centuries ago, when people could neither read nor write. (Slide 2 ends here)

Rich and varied folk art. In fairy tales, songs, people talked about important historical events, about his work, about his worries and sorrows, dreamed of a happy, just life. (Slide 3 ends here)

Folk wisdom, observation, accuracy and expressiveness of folk speech are embodied in proverbs, sayings, riddles. (Slide 4 ends here)

Of exceptional interest among the works of folk art are epics - artistic and historical songs about heroes, folk heroes. (Slide 5 ends here)

The main cycles of epics: Novgorod and Kyiv (Slide 6 ends here)

The action in most epics is timed to Kyiv. Some epics tell about the life, events and people of another largest city ancient Russia- Novgorod (epics about Sadko, about Vasily Buslaev). (Slide 7 ends here)

Kyiv epics are heroic (or heroic) epics. Heroic epics tell about the courageous defense of the motherland, about the heroes, their struggle against the nomadic enemies who attacked the country. (Slide 8 ends here)

Epics are built according to a certain plan.

Most epics begin with a beginning. It usually talks about the place of action or where and from where the hero went (Slide 9 ends here)

From that city from Murom, From that village and Karacharov, A remote, burly, kind fellow was leaving. glorious to the city to Chernigov, Whether that city of Chernigov is overtaken by something black-black, And black-black, like a black crow. (Slide 10 ends here)

Events in epics are presented in a strict order, sequentially. The story is told slowly, slowly. (Slide 11 ends here) Since epics lived in oral transmission, their performer said to focus the attention of listeners on places that were especially important, in his opinion. For this, repetitions are widely used in epics, usually three times. So, in the epic about Ilya Muromets and the Nightingale the Robber, the description of the power of the Nightingale the Robber is repeated three times. (Slide 12 ends here)

In order to give melodiousness to the epic, to make its presentation more expressive, musical, individual words are often repeated in the epics.

The straight road is jammed,

The path was choked up, it was murmured.

In the capital city in Kyiv,

At the affectionate prince at Vladimir. (Slide 13 ends here)

Repetitions are found not only in the text of the same epic. Similar actions and phenomena are described in different epics in the same way, for example, saddling a heroic horse, a feast at Prince Vladimir, enemy strength, the battle of heroes with enemies, etc. Such similar descriptions found in different epics (and in fairy tales) are called common places. (Slide 14 ends here)

Sometimes epics end with a special ending - a conclusion from the entire content of the epics:

Either old, or deed,

that is, it was so in the old days, this is a true story. (Slide 15 ends here)

The main character of the epics is a Russian hero. To more clearly represent the strength of the hero, the technique of hyperbole (exaggeration) is used. For example, this is how the battle of the hero with the enemy force is described. If the hero waves right hand, a street is formed among the enemy camp, a lane is formed on the left. The club (sword) of the hero weighs forty or even ninety pounds. (Slide 16 ends here)

If the hero falls asleep, then "a heroic dream for twelve days" (days). To match the hero and his horse: "the first lope of the horse - for many miles, and the second lope - and you can not find it." To emphasize the strength of the Russian hero, his enemy is depicted hyperbolically. The innumerable forces of the enemy gray wolf... do not skip a day, a black crow does not fly around a day. (Slide 17 ends here)

In epics, as well as in the works of oral folk poetry in general, every word is precise and expressive. For centuries, folk singers and poets have improved the language of their poetic works, achieving the most accurate and vivid, expressive disclosure through the word of the most essential qualities of heroes and their actions. So, epithets are very rich and diverse in oral poetry - colorful definitions that indicate the most significant feature of people, objects, phenomena of life. (Slide 18 ends here)

Often the same epithets constantly characterize certain heroes, objects, phenomena of life, nature, etc. Therefore, they are called permanent epithets. In epics, for example, there are such constant epithets: a burly good fellow, great strength, glorious capital Kyiv-grad, a tight bow, a silk string, red-hot arrows. (Slide 19 ends here)

Comparisons are often used in epics:

Caught up with something black-black,

Black-black, like a black crow.

Pike-fish walk Volga in the blue seas,

Volga fly like a falcon under the shells,

Scour the open fields like a wolf. (Slide 20 ends here)

Negative comparisons are used:

Not a damp oak bends to the ground,

Not paper leaves spread out,

The son bows before the priest ... (Slide 21 ends here)

Wishing to emphasize any shade of the meaning of the word, important, according to folk singer, to understand the narrative, the narrators of epics widely use synonyms: “Volga began to grow and mother”; "And to yell and plow and peasant,"; “Here Ilya felt offended, for great annoyance it seemed ...” (Slide 22 ends here)

An important role in the language of epics is played by nouns with diminutive and endearing suffixes. They express the people's assessment of the heroes of epics. Bogatyrs are often called pet names: Ilyushenka, Dobrynyushka Nikitich, Mikulushka Selyaninovich, etc. (Slide 23 ends here) Affectionate suffixes are also used in words denoting objects belonging to the hero. He has “hot arrows”, “saddle”, “bridles”, “felt”, “sweatshirts”, etc. (Slide 24 ends here)

The epic is pronounced in a singsong voice. Obeying the tune, the narrator puts stresses on certain words, while other words, without stresses, seem to merge into one word (“mother earth”, “field-clean”). In this regard, sometimes the word has different stresses in the same epic (“Nightingale-Nightingale”, “young”, “young”, “young”). (Slide 25 ends here)

In ancient oral folk poetry there are epics telling about the peaceful, working life of the Russian people. These are household epics. The most important of them is the epic about Volga and Mikul. It celebrates people's work. In Ilya Muromets, the people sang the peasant-warrior, the hero - the defender of the motherland. In the image of Mikula, he glorified the peasant farmer, the hero - the breadwinner of the country.

Great value to understand ancient Russian literature has a question about what were the features of the epics. This type The genre was very popular among our distant ancestors, so the consideration of the problem posed is still relevant. School classes in literature should be preceded by a short explanation of the teacher on the topic, as this will help to understand their content, style features, meaning and ideological load.

Literary devices

Features of epics can be easily traced on the basis of the most famous works of this genre. When reading at least a few texts, such a technique as repetition immediately catches your eye. With their help, anonymous authors sought to strengthen the main idea and the main meaning. In addition, in this way the ancient storytellers achieved a special sound and melodiousness of the works.

It should be noted here that these ancient epic songs were performed on especially solemn occasions, so it was very important to set the listeners in a certain way. Based on the foregoing, it can be added that the features of the epics reflected the spirit of their time, when the military enterprises of the princely squad became an object of respect and glorification.

The role of epithets

This expressiveness plays perhaps the most important role in conveying in words a visual picture of what is happening. Unknown authors did not spare colors, singing the strength and power of the ancient knights and warriors. The features of epics are easily explained by the purpose for which they were created: the desire to praise and perpetuate the exploits of the heroes.

To emphasize their glory and greatness, the singers used the same epithets, which, with constant repetition, created in the listener's imagination an expressive and colorful picture fight. As a rule, epithets were applied to the characteristic appearance warrior, his horse, as well as the enemy. Descriptions of ancient Russian cities are unusually beautiful: princely chambers, palaces, squads.

Hyperbolas

The artistic features of epics reflect the thinking of a medieval Russian person who was inclined to exalt the exploits of his favorite heroes. To this end, the authors used hyperboles, which were supposed to amaze the listener's imagination. In fact, the exploits of the knights are presented in unusually epic tones. For example, in ancient legends, the hero strikes the enemy with one stroke and blow, from the blow of his horse's hoof the earth trembles and leaves fall from the trees. The same techniques apply to the description of negative characters. For example, the Nightingale the Robber whistles so that all living things around scatter, a strong wind rises.

accents

The artistic features of epics also reveal some features of the musical art of our ancestors. These old epic songs were built on special rules, which gave them melodiousness, regularity and a certain rhythm of sound. In the lines of these works, several stresses are used, usually three. They were placed on the third syllables from the beginning and from the end.

This principle was not mandatory, but was applied quite often. Such a performance gave the epic a special sound expressiveness and epicness. However, sometimes, to enhance the melodiousness of the text, the syllables were sung as one word, without divisions and pauses.

Composition

No less important is the question of which features of the construction of the epic were used most often. All works of the genre under consideration began with the beginning - introductory remarks, which revealed the time and place of action. At this point, students should pay attention to a high degree historical authenticity: legends always indicate a real city, they talk about a prince who ruled at the time when the described events took place, sometimes the author mentioned specific places, which gave the story credibility and truthfulness.

This is followed by the plot and the climax, which are revealed literally in one breath, without pauses, delays or digressions. Thus, the narrators painted one picture of the event, not allowing the listener to be distracted for even a single minute. The denouement came, as a rule, rather quickly: it speaks of the honors that the hero received as a reward for his feat.

Subject

Features of Russian epics reveal inner world ancient Russian man. Thanks to these amazing stories, we can understand what exactly interested our distant ancestors. Of course, the stories about the exploits and military battles of the heroes were the most favorite plot. However, in addition to this, there were also themes devoted to the glorification of ordinary agricultural workers. There were epics about the extraordinary adventures of heroes, for example, fairy tales about the merchant Sadko were very popular. In these epics, not the military prowess of the knights is glorified, but such features of the characters as cunning, daring, worldly wisdom, which allowed them to find a way out of the most difficult situations.

epics- folk songs about exploits heroes, preserved in the north of Russia in the memory of singer-storytellers. Epic songs that sing of heroic events. Epics artistically summarized the reality of the 11th-16th centuries.

Epics were recorded mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries in the Russian North - their main keeper: in the former Arkhangelsk province, in Karelia, on the Mezen, Pechora, Pinega rivers, on the coast of the White Sea, in the Vologda region. In addition, starting from the 18th century, epics were recorded among the old-timers of Siberia, the Urals, the Volga and in the central Russian provinces. Echoes of epics have been preserved by Cossack songs on the Don, Terek, Lower Volga, and the Urals.

The content of the epic is varied. About 100 plots are known to science, more than 3,000 texts have been recorded with variants and versions, a significant part of which has been published. Usually epics have a heroic or short story character. The idea of ​​heroic epics is the glorification of the unity and independence of the Russian land, in short story epics marital fidelity, true friendship were glorified, personal vices were condemned. Epics condemned social injustice, the arbitrariness of princely power. The people called epics "old men", "old men", "old women". The term "epic" is purely scientific; it was proposed in the first half of the 19th century by I.P. Sakharov. The word "epic" was taken by him from "The Tale of the Regiment" and artificially applied to designate the folklore genre in order to emphasize its historicism.

Singing certain events in epics, the storytellers never became like chroniclers, they did not seek to convey the chronicle sequence of events, but depicted only the central moments. The singers were attracted not by the exact recording of history, but by the expression of its people's assessments, the display of people's ideals.

Epics conveyed the names of real-life persons: Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Monomakh, Dobrynya, Sadko, Alexander Popovich, Ilya Muromets, Polovtsian and Tatar khans (Batu, Tugorkan). So the epic prince Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko combined Vladimir Svyatoslavich and Vladimir Monomakh. Nikitich, uncle of Vladimir Svyatoslavich, lived in the 10th-early 11th centuries. there are chronicles about him. For example, the epic Dobrynya is the matchmaker of Vladimir Svyatoslavich. Historical Dobrynya acted in this role in 980, when Vladimir decided to marry the Polotsk princess Rogneda.

In the 12th century In Novgorod there was a merchant named Sotko. Sadko is the hero of the Novgorod epics.

Ilya Muromets is mentioned in Russian written sources in the 16th century, and in the German oral tradition he has been known since the 13th century. According to some legends, in the Kiev-Pechersk Lavra there was a tomb with the relics of Ilya Muromets. The rise of Ilya Muromets over other heroes was facilitated by the fact that he came from North-Eastern Russia, which from the 12th century began to play a leading role among the ancient Russian lands.

Putilov. Russian historical and song folklore.

Epics are works whose plots are the result of artistic fiction. This fiction is always based on historical reality, but not in the form of specific events and facts. The epic is an artistic generalization of the historical experience of the people of an entire era. In this generalization, the historical ideals of the people are in the foreground.

COLLECTION HISTORY. A significant difficulty is created by the fact that we have not reached, and perhaps did not have at all, records of epics earlier than the beginning of the 17th century. The oldest B. records are only 300 years old. Taking into account the inevitable variability of any folklore text in oral transmission from generation to generation, we have to admit that even our most ancient records of B. did not preserve B. in their original content and form. Later records of epics, made by scholarly collectors from the lips of the people in the 18th-20th centuries, quite naturally included a number of even further "layers" and underwent more or less changes and additions from a long series of generations of individual storytellers. The restoration of the original form of each B. and its further evolution can be (and only relatively) done only on the basis of a careful comparison and comparison of all B. variants that have come down to us, both old and new records.

This explains why scholars of folklore so cherish each old manuscript with an epic text and each new entry by B. on the same plot. B. plots, there are only about 40, while records of B. texts now have accumulated more than 1,500 numbers.

The oldest recording of Russian epic songs is a recording of historical songs, almost contemporary with the events sung in them, made for the Englishman Richard James, who lived in Russia in 1619-1620. Actually B. texts in the manuscripts of the XVII century. we got five. The oldest handwritten text is “The Tale of the Kyiv Bogatyrs, how they went to Constantinople and how they beat the Constantinople heroes and did themselves honor” (at the end of the text, this “Tale” is called the “Bogatyr Word”). This and similar handwritten texts of B. of the 17th century. should be considered together with other handwritten B. texts XVIII and early XIX centuries

From the middle of the XVIII century. A wonderful collection of epics has come down to us, compiled by the Cossack Kirsha Danilov for the rich Ural breeder Demidov and containing over 70 songs.

The discovery of the riches of the Russian epic epic falls on the 60-70s. 19th century In 1861-1867, “Songs collected by P. N. Rybnikov” (224 numbers of B.) were published, and in 1872 - “Onega B.”, recorded in 1871 by A. F. Gilferding (318 numbers).

During 1862-1874, issues of the posthumous work “Songs collected by P. V. Kireevsky” were published (11 volumes in total).

two collections: N. S. Tikhonravova and V. F. Miller, Young then-scientific collectors made trips for B. to different parts of this vast province; as a result, science has been enriched by detailed collections of B.: A. V. Markova, “Belomorskie B.”, M., 1901 (116 issues); A. D. Grigorieva (total 424 issues), “Arkhangelsk B. and historical songs”, vol. I, M., 1904 and vol. III, M., 1910 (volume II was not released) and N. E. Onchukova, "Pechorsky B.", in the Saratov region (M. and B. Sokolov and others - 24 numbers), in Siberia (Tan-Bogoraz, Gulyaev and others - 27 numbers); quite significant B. material was recorded among the Cossacks of the Don, Terek, Ural, Orenburg (collections of Listopadov, Arefin, Dogadin, Zheleznov, Myakushin, Pankratiev, Karpinsky - information about all these records is combined in the article by V. F. Miller - “Cossack epic songs XVI and XVII centuries" in his "Essays on Folk Literature", vol. III, M., 1924).

Epic classification:

heroic epics will differ from B. short stories, as they have long been Sun. Miller distinguished by content. In the epics of the heroic movement is centripetal to the main acting person- a rich man. It does not always develop in a straight line, but very often with sudden shifts in the opposite direction. A favorite technique of heroic B. is the reception of antithesis (Ilya, contrary to the warning inscription at the crossroads of three roads, travels along them and refutes these warnings with his actions; Dobrynya does not obey the instructions of his mother and bathes in the Puchay River, etc.). Similarly to the method of antithesis in the development of action in heroic epics, we see the same method of contrast in the organization of the image of B. heroes. At the beginning of B., the hero is not underestimated, even slandered, the enemy seems to be more significant than him, stronger, then all this 13 is immediately refuted by the further, especially the final moment of the heroic battle: the hero alone cracks down on a hostile force of many thousands. In contrast, for example, such couples as Ilya and Idolishche, Potanya and Kostruk, Dobrynya and Serpent, etc. are depicted. various forms hyperbolization as appearance epic heroes and their attributes, and their actions, exploits.

B. short stories (Churila and Katerina, Alyosha and Dobrynya, Khoten Bludovich, and others), in contrast to the heroic short stories, include significantly more elements of purely dramatic action. Various forms of dialogue play an important role in the poetics of B., and in heroic, military B. dialogue, or direct speech in general, is less common than in short story B., for which the dialogical form of presentation is largely a formal sign of a special B. .genre. Dialogue performs an essential dynamic function in the structure of B. - it largely moves the action in B.

Epics are also combined into cycles:

By time

By territory

By heroes

Kyiv and Novgorod cycles

Ticket 27. the main plots of Russian epics. Novgorod and Kyiv cycles.

Plots of epics. The number of epic stories, despite the many recorded versions of the same epic, is very limited: there are about 100 of them. There are epics based on matchmaking or the struggle of the hero for his wife ( Sadko, Mikhailo Potyk, Ivan Godinovich, Danube, Kozarin, Nightingale Budimirovich and later - Alyosha Popovich and Elena Petrovichna, Hoten Bludovich); fighting monsters Dobrynya and the snake, Alyosha and Tugarin, Ilya and Idolishche, Ilya and the Nightingale the Robber); fight against foreign invaders, including: repelling Tatar raids ( Ilya's quarrel with Vladimir, Ilya and Kalin, Dobrynya and Vasily Kazemirovich), wars with Lithuanians ( Bylina about the arrival of Lithuanians).

Stand apart are satirical epics or epics-parodies ( Duke Stepanovich, Competition with Churila).

The main epic heroes. Representatives of the Russian "mythological school" divided the heroes of epics into "senior" and "junior" heroes. In their opinion, the “elders” (Svyatogor, Danube, Volkh, Potyka) were the personification of elemental forces, epics about them in a peculiar way reflected the mythological views that existed in Ancient Russia. The “younger” heroes (Ilya Muromets, Alyosha Popovich, Dobrynya Nikitich) are ordinary mortals, heroes of a new historical era, and therefore are endowed with mythological features to a minimal extent. Despite the fact that serious objections were subsequently raised against such a classification, such a division is still found in the scientific literature.

The images of heroes are the national standard of courage, justice, patriotism and strength (it was not for nothing that one of the first Russian aircraft, which had an exceptional carrying capacity for those times, was called the creators of "Ilya Muromets").

Epics are divided into:

Kyiv.

Epic Kyiv is a symbol of the unity and state independence of the Russian land. Here, in the court of Prince Vladimir, the events of many epics take place. The military power of Russia is personified by heroes. Among the heroic epics, those in which Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich and Alyosha Popovich act are put forward in the first place. These main defenders of the Russian land come from three estates: peasant, princely and priestly. Epics sought to present Russia as a united in the fight against enemies.

Ilya is a peasant son, originally from the village of Karacharova near the city of Murom. Until the age of thirty, he was ill - he could not control his arms or legs. The poor wanderers cured Ilya and endowed him with unprecedented strength. The enormous power of Ilya should benefit all of Russia, so he rushed to Kyiv. Along the way, he accomplished his first feats: he defeated the enemy troops near Chernigov, freed the road from the nightingale-robber.

After Ilya Muromets, Dobrynya Nikitich is most loved by the people. This is a hero of princely origin, he lives in Kyiv. The main business of his life is the military service of Russia.

The heroic feat of Dobrynya is depicted by the epic “Dobrynya and the Serpent” - a story about how, on the Puchay River, Dobrynya fought off a snake with one hat, knocked off its three trunks. The snake prayed and offered to make peace. Dobrynya released the snake, but then he saw how he grabbed the prince's daughter and went to rescue her. This time the battle was long, but Dobrynya won.